Arthur Firstenberg: The Jackass In the Foil Hat
June 17th, 2008
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Not long ago this site reported on a group which demanded “radiation free zones” in New Mexico and restrictions on Wifi, cell phones, public safety communications and all other RF devices. There have also been some reports of similar groups in California. Many of these groups seem to be embracing the fake condition “electrosensitivity,” which was invented in Sweeden in the early 1990’s. However, an article recently brought to my attention something that I had not noticed: There has apparently been one individual who has been a driving force in the organization of citizens groups in the Western United States for the purpose of whining and complaining about electromagnetic and RF fields.
The douchebag in question is one Arthur Fistenberg. Apparently he was a one-time med school student who claims he was forced to drop out in 1982, after developing a sensitivity to electromagnetic fields that prevented him from being around modern medical equipment. He blames the development of this condition on routine dental x-rays, which somehow managed to turn him from a garden variety ass into some kind of mutant super drama queen with no shame at all.
Since 1997 he’s taken up the issue of “electrosensitivity,” first authoring “Microwaving Our Planet,” an article in which he made the standard issue claims about every disease known to man being cause by RF radiation, which he says has been covered up by the telecommunications industry since 1927. By 2002, he was organizing his first protests in California, claiming that cellular phone deployment was causing him and others to have horrible health issues. He stated that he moved to California from New York City in an attempt to get away from the radiation which caused his debilitating condition. (Presumably he walked, since aircraft and cars tend to have electrical devices on them)
He has since written several other articles, such as this one:
In 1982 I was in my fourth year of medical school, a promising career ahead of me. Today I am homeless. My money does not provide me shelter. My good health does not ensure my survival. My friends are unable to help me. I am being killed, but the law offers me no protection.
For eight years I have run an advocacy and support network for people in similar circumstances. No one else has been doing this kind of work in North America. I am afraid time has run out for us. I will outline, later, the emergency measures that are needed in order to reverse a grave, imminent and largely unacknowledged threat to all life.
Well he’s not lying about one thing. He apparently is (by all indications) unemployed and lives on Social Security checks, which somehow he managed to get for this “disability.” He claims that this is because he cannot find any place to work which does not have computers, in one posting to the Ecologist. Yes, apparently he’s not only harmed by RF fields from wireless networks, but even the small electromagnetic fields from a computer inside a shielded, grounded case make him break out in laziness… I mean.. health issues.
Despite this, he’s continued to be the driving force in organizing groups against wifi or other sources of “EMF Smog,” such as the recent uproar in New Mexico. Just a search for his name on Google News shows that he has managed to make himself the seed for numerous useless groups claiming that wifi or cell phones is dangerous and needs to be subject to ridiculous restrictions.
Sorry, but I have been unable to find a photo of Mr. Fistenberg. This is probably due to the fact that most cameras are now digital and even those which are not have electronic light sensors and flashes. Thus, he probably can’t get near them.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 at 8:21 pm and is filed under Bad Science, Just LAME, Not Even Wrong, Obfuscation, inverse square. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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April 5th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
This wretched excuse of a human is exemplary of what is wrong with our court system. One misguided person can bring mischief to undeserving people and cost them thousands of dollars in legal bills just because he craves notoriety of who knows what? Why is it that those of us who chose to work for a living must pay for this person’s life of leisure? If the government is serious (of course they aren’t) about reducing expenses, they should immediately review and end his Social Security payments. We taxpayers are enabling him to do nothing but harm others through the misuse of our court system! I hope the case is thrown out and his neighbor can successfully sue him and obtain a lien on his home. The guy complains of micro-watts of radiated power while television stations and FM broadcast stations saturate him with thousands of times more energy. At the very least, the court should require him to submit to unbiased testing at HIS expense to prove any alleged harm by his innocent neighbor. Once these claims are demonstrated to be false, he should pay a sizable court cost fee and reimburse his neighbor for expenses caused by his making unnecessary trouble. Then he should take what federally provided money he has left and move to Gitmo. I hear there are some rooms available there, and he should adapt nicely.
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November 30th, 2010 at 9:53 pm
http://educate-yourself.org/cn/neilcherrycellphonerisks07may01.shtml
Whatever you do..don’t admit this body of research exists! lol.
Wait wait wait..but I’d bet the author will tell you anthropogenic global warming real? LOL
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November 30th, 2010 at 11:20 pm
Steve said:
I’ve read a lot of what Neil Cherry put out – time I’ll never get back, I may add. He was a true crackpot. Actually, he seems to have gotten worse toward the end of his life, perhaps in despiration for attention. The crap cited from him isn’t actually scientific studies, just his anecdotal rantings and unsupported claims.
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December 1st, 2010 at 3:34 am
drbuzz0 said:
What about the anti-nuclear movement, aren’t they even bigger than that?
Steve said:
Global warming has a lot of scientific evidence that supports its existence and the fact that we are causing it and basically nothing against (and for an increased CO2 concentration in the atmosphere to not cause global warming a lot of very well tested basic physics must be wrong).
The idea of mobile phones causing cancer contradicts pretty much everything we know about electromagnetic radiation.
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March 31st, 2011 at 10:31 am
I hope since this extremely prejudice and slandering article was written, that more people have been educated about this subject. Since 2008, studies around the world have proved CELL TOWERS CAUSE CANCER. Haven’t you all noticed that cancer is like a new epidemic in America?
People are having all kinds of different types of reactions to cell tower radiation exposure, and Mr. Firstenberg is still doing everyone else in the country a favor by attacking this corporate takeover in any way he can. We should be THANKING him, not slandering him.
We now have a documentary called “Full Signal” that is full of facts and doctors from around the world. It is very educational and should be watched by everyone who doesn’t know about the effects of cell tower radiation. If we continue to let the cell phone companies compete with each other at the cost of our childrens’ health, there is going to be a very large population of regretful, ignorant, sick people in the very near future.
Ignorance is our biggest predator.
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March 31st, 2011 at 12:36 pm
mindy.eastwell said:
Citation? I’ve seen all kinds of studies, many with reports that they show cancer linked to cell towers or cell phones. I’ve read them (the studies, not just the media reports) Still have not seen anything, but I’m always open to new evidence.
However, even if they did cause cancer (which they don’t), there’s a huge difference between something having chronic carsonegeic effects versus acute effects, like producing headaches, fattigue etc. They absolutely, definately, provably do not do the later.
It’s not terribly hard to test either. Put a lot of people in a rooms with a transmitters. Don’t tell them if they are powered on or not. Record the results.
Guess what, it’s been done. Nothing there.
mindy.eastwell said:
Uh… no.
Cancer is still a fairly common condition in humans. The chances that you will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in your life is more than one third. The chances of dying from it are clost to 20%.
There has been no increase in cancer rates. There has, however, been a signifficant change in cancer mortality: It’s down. For some cancers, it’s down quite a lot in just the past 20 years.
No, there is no increase in cancer. Sorry.
mindy.eastwell said:
well, there already are and always have been. Not that this has anything to do with cell phones. There are just a lot of ignoramuses in the world and always have been.
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June 23rd, 2011 at 9:47 am
Who are you idiots?
By now I suspect many of you are eating your own words, as you start to feel the effects of the levels of radiation that by now are 100’s of times higher than they were when this wretched article was written. Who hires you? Why don’t you re post now that half of you are in denial as you suffer the very effects this man tried to warn you about. What about your family and your children? can you be certain their well being is guaranteed? I didn’t think so.
Get a life and then do some research.
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June 23rd, 2011 at 10:26 am
Reality Checks said:
um.. no. Keep waiting.
Reality Checks said:
Um… Seriously? This was written in 2008 (I can’t believe it’s been 3 years). It’s not 2011.
What has changed in terms of wireless systems and infrastructure? Erm.. not a lot. The last vestidges of analog cellular were retired. The US ended regular analog television broadcasts. These, of course, would all reduce, not increase “radiation” levels.
3G coverage has improved a bit with some additional expansion. 4G systems have been introduced, but they are currently deployed to a fairly limited extent. There has been a fair amount of infrastructure expansion in China and a few other places. Not much expansion in the US and almost none in Europe (since nearly complete coverage was achieved some time ago.)
I guess there are probably a few more wifi routers operating today than there were in 2008.
Hundreds of times higher than three years ago? You’ve got to be kidding me.
Reality Checks said:
I do freelance and contract work on network adminstration, IT installaton etc. I also have a part time job for a company that provides vocational work to disabled adults. I do their ecommerace and database stuff.
Why do you want to know?
Reality Checks said:
Um… well I have some polin alergies, although I always had those. About a year ago I got pretty sick with a low grade fever that lasted a couple of days. Uh.. I think I had a very minor cold this winter.
Other than that I’ve been in perfect health. Nope, no headaches. No diziness. I do get fattigue and tireness, but that’s usually a result of staying out too late or too much work and/or partying.
Reality Checks said:
Don’t have any children, but my family is fine, thanks for asking.
Reality Checks said:
Well, no, I suppose not in general – I mean, it’s a dangerous world. One of them could get sick or have an accident. Nobody’s wel being is gauranteed.
But as far as wireless devices and “radiation” then yes, I’m pretty damn certain they’re fine in that regard.
Reality Checks said:
Good advice, but I’ve already done both
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November 10th, 2011 at 2:19 pm
The writer of this piece is just yet another hit man. All hit men operate in the same manner. They mock
and ridicule and attempt to make it look as if their opponent is completely without credibility.
They do this with religion, alternative medicine, anyone that doesn’t believe in the whole HIV=AIDS hoax,etc.
The guy that runs Quackbusters is another of these hitmen. The hit men do not want you to know that there are thousands upon thousands of studies that prove that fluoride is harmful, that HIV is not the cause of AIDS, that
GMO foods are killing us slowly, that nuclear testing through out the 1940s-1960s caused and is still causing millions of cancers ever year. These hit men are of the devil, which of course they will deny he exists.
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November 10th, 2011 at 2:27 pm
Perry said:
Off the meds again eh, Perry
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November 10th, 2011 at 2:34 pm
quote: “Off the meds again eh, Perry”
True to form, you are.
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November 10th, 2011 at 6:06 pm
Perry said:
So who do you figure is paying me? I’d love to hear your theory on this. This should be good.
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November 11th, 2011 at 1:34 am
That reminds me, I’m still waiting on the check from big cellphone, do you think it could have been lost in the mail?
Also waiting for checks from big nuclear, big biotech, big chemical, big pharma, big moon hoax fakers and probably a few others.
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March 1st, 2012 at 1:21 am
i agree the article involves personal attacks and conjecture rather than fact. Show us an analysis of Arthur Firstenberg claims and refute them. look at the different studies on both sides of the “debate” argument. Even if one did so, it still an opinion. It would still contain assumptions. this proves nothing.
Its not like Arthur is sitting around smoking crack or pot, and at any rate even if he was he would still require our compassion and understanding, if we would so hope him to become a valuable member of our society. I imagine if you examined Arthurs lifestyle you would find him clean living, dedicated to working on changing the world.
I believe many politicians that have questionable values motive, differing personal, political and health beliefs receive more monies than Firstenberg. I believe there are many many rich people who may donate money made in ways that you may disagree with and contribute these monies to political/ or other bodies that you might also disagree with.
while none of this proves anything i think it gives another facet to consider, particularly in your above judgments. This is not a factual article, it borders on slander and personal opinion not based on any provided facts.
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March 1st, 2012 at 5:58 am
Mary said:
The onus is on you or anyone else that supports this nut-bar to prove his claims; it is not ours to prove him wrong. This is fundamental: extraordinary claims need extraordinary evidence, and these have not been forthcoming from him or his sycophants. Therefore both he and his clams are fair targets for ridicule and attack.
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